HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	51
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging Hawaii electrical utilities to adopt a policy for the Future electrical grid to support the use of micro-grids and self-sufficient residential solar photovoltaic systems.

 

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has the highest electricity rates of all states in the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's high electrical rates are often attributed to Hawaii's reliance on imported oil and a doomed and obsolete electrical utilities business model that has not changed in over a century; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii electrical utilities still follow an outdated business model requiring a central system operator to manage the power supply with fluctuating customer demand while maintaining the reliability of the power system; and

 

     WHEREAS, a micro-grid is a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that act as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid and can connect to the grid to operate in grid-connected mode and can disconnect from the grid to operate in island mode; and

 

     WHEREAS, a self-sufficient residential solar photovoltaic system is a photovoltaic system with a battery storage device to store energy, but can also provide excess energy to the electrical grid once the battery is at full capacity; and

 

     WHEREAS, the current electrical grid is analogous to the mainframe computer half a century ago that handled all computer processing while micro-grids are analogous to the modern personal computer that handles individual processing at the location where it is needed; and

 

     WHEREAS, developing an electrical grid compatible with micro-grids and self-sufficient residential solar photovoltaic systems is an important step for reducing both electricity rates and the State's dependence on imported oil; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that all Hawaii electrical utilities are urged to adopt a policy for the future electrical grid to support the use of micro-grids and self-sufficient residential solar photovoltaic systems; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of Hawaiian Electric Industries, the President of Hawaiian Electric Company, the President of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, and the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Electricity; Electrical Utilities; Micro-Grids; Photovoltaic